


First Draft

by RyanTyler2294



Series: A Tiny Scandal [3]
Category: DC Animated Universe, DC Cinematic Universe, DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Drama, Drama bomb!, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-14 22:37:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9207620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyanTyler2294/pseuds/RyanTyler2294
Summary: Lois is in for a surprise.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I think you guys are really gonna like this part!

“He sent me flowers?” Lois inspected the potted plant on her desk. The flower delivery guy had dropped it off on her desk and it caught everyone’s attention. The flowers that Wayne sent had a thank you card attached to it.

“Wow,” Cat Grant giggled when she saw the arrangement. “Something going on between you and the Prince of Gotham that we should know about?”

“He has been pretty generous with you,” Clark was suddenly there as well. He had the most mischievous smile on his face as he added, “Maybe he has a crush on you.”

Part of Lois wanted to wrap her hands around Clark’s throat. He knew full well that Bruce wasn’t hitting on her: if he was then he should be mad, not amused. Unless they had some sort of open relationship, but that wouldn’t make any sense. There was no way that Clark would go for something like that. He was too…too Clark for that.

“It’s not like that,” Lois crossed her arms, “Maybe it’s a bribe. I told him I would be keeping tabs on him after those employees complained about unfair pay.”

“What does the card say?” Clark asked. “That will probably give us some sort of a hint.”

“I doubt it says anything useful,” Lois huffed as she plucked the card from the flowers. “Dear Ms. Lane, I wanted to take the time to properly thank you for bringing that oversight to my attention. The workers of Wayne Enterprises and the Wayne Donation Foundation all agreed to get you something. These flowers are from all of us to you. P.S Let me know if you need another interview to wrap up this story. You know how to reach me.” Lois squinted at the card. “He added a winky face at the end.”

“I think he likes you,” Clark gave a light chuckle.

“I doubt that’s it,” Lois snorted, but gave Clark a pointed look. He responded by tilting his head the smallest bit and giving his usual dopey smile. He wasn’t getting what she was hinting at.

“You should give him a call, get the last interview that you need.” Clark shrugged.

“Just cause he sent me flowers?”

“Because he never gives interviews this willingly. He’s inviting you to his office to give his own personal statement, not a statement from his Public Relations office but his own words on the situation. This is a once in a lifetime chance.”

Clark had a point there. It would be stupid to let an opportunity like this slip through the cracks. If anything, she should exploit it. This could be a good chance to become more acquainted with Wayne. Maybe he could become one of her contacts.

“You’re right,” She conceded. “I’ll call his assistant and see if he can schedule me in.” She was expecting Cat and Clark to go back to what they were doing, but instead they hovered as she made the call.

The phone was picked up on the first ring before she could get a word out the assistant (Terry, she thinks his name is) knew to confirm that she was Ms. Lane.

“Um, yes…I just wanted to…” She started to explain her season for calling.

“Mr. Wayne requested that I patch you through when you called. Please hold.”

“I…uh…okay.”

“What’s going on?” Cat mouthed.

“He wants to talk to me personally,” Lois explained.

“Personally?” Cat was grinning at her.

“I told ya he likes you,” Clark smirked.

“That’s no…”

“Ms. Lane, I’ve been waiting for you to call,” Wayne’s voice cut off the hold music. “What can I do for you?”

“I wanted to say thank you for the flowers and take you up on the offer you made.”

“Ah, I see,” Even over the phone Bruce sound smug. “I’m in the Metropolis office today. I’m mostly booked up, but I’m free during the lunch hour. If you want to swing by I would be more than happy to accommodate you.”

“Exactly what time would that be?” Lois pulled out pen and paper.

“Noon until one.” Bruce clarified. “As long as you come in during that grace period, I can make time.”

“Alright, I’ll see you then.” Lois hung up and sighed. Clark and Cat were still grinning at her. “I’m seeing him at noon today.”

“Lunch date?” Clark sent some of her own humor her way. Apparently, he had a sense of irony.

“No, it’s just an interview,” Lois said smoothly.

“Tell me anything,” Cat rolled her eyes. “No seriously, I want to know how it goes. Can you imagine the scandal? A Senior Reporter falls for Billionaire Playboy. The media would have a fit.”

“It’s not going to happen.” Lois declared.

“You never know,” Cat said before going back to her desk.

“She has a point,” Clark said in a sing-song voice.

“Clark…” She wanted to put an end to this teasing and just tell him that she knows he and Bruce are dating. Clark’s brow raised as he waited for Lois to continue. He was completely unaware that she knew. She could tell by the look on his face. Big, trusting blue eyes blinked at her as he waited for her to finish talking. A small polite smile on the corner of his lips. Open and honest.

Which is why it was so weird that he would keep something like this a secret. Maybe there was more to this than what met the eye. She liked to think that they were close enough that he would tell her about something like this.

“Never mind,” She would let it go for now.

“Bring me back some fancy sandwiches from your lunch date?” Clark asked on his way back to his desk.

“If there are any,” Lois promised.

~.~.~.~.~

It was bring your kid to work day in the office, as it would turn out. She bumped into Jason Todd outside of Bruce’s office. Jason was busy chatting it up with Terry, Bruce’s personal assistant. Terry’s desk was stationed outside of Bruce’s office so he could stand guard of unwanted appointments.

“No man, the monster truck rally was awesome,” Jason was saying. “Next time I’ll see if I can get you a ticket or something so you can come with. I’m sure Roy wouldn’t mind.” Jason invited as he sat on the edge of Terry’s desk.

“Sounds cool. As long as it’s after five, I don’t get off work until then.” Terry explained. “Actually I might need a twenty-four-hour notice, sometimes I work pretty late. It depends on what’s happening in the office.”

“I’m sure Bruce would give you the day if you asked for it.” Jason shrugged like it was no big deal. His eyes shifting before he started to speak again. “Hey, what are you doing for lu…”

“Ms. Lane,” Terry saw her approaching from the corner of his eye. “Mr. Wayne is expecting you.” He got up from his desk to beat her to Wayne’s door. He knocked lightly and informed his boss that Lois was here to see him. Lois waited for a response. She took notice of the glare Jason was sending her way. It was odd. He didn’t have an issue with her the last two times.

Terry opened the door for her.

“Ms. Lane, come in,” Wayne greeted. The door was closed behind her, leaving her with a one on one with the Playboy. Well, it would have been if Damian wasn’t there. The little boy had a small desk placed next to Bruce. He was dressed in a suit and tie. He was diligently working on his coloring book, and only stopped to take a small sip from his juice box in-between.

For once Bruce looked put together. His hair was styled back instead of being all over his head. The suit he wore was clean and pressed, and free of stains. It made it so his flirtatious smiles didn’t look out of place.

“Sit down,” He gestured to the chair across from his. “We just had lunch brought up. I’ve heard through the grapevine that you’re a sucker for a chicken caesar wrap.”

He must have heard it from Clark, she thought as she took a seat. Instead, what she said was, “Thank you.”

“I should be giving you more than that,” Bruce gave a small smile as he rest his face in his palm. He must be working at looking as dapper as ever. “You really helped me out with what you did.”

“It’s my job to point out the injustices and crisis of the world and get to the root of the problem so I can show the truth to the people,” Lois explained as she pulled out her pad and paper.

“So noble,” Bruce smiled

“Not as noble as you: I heard that you were compensating everyone from your personal accounts.” She heard about that through Clark. He mentioned it when the report had been on the news. He had been all doe-eyed as he talked about his boyfriend’s endeavors.

“It’s the least I could do. If I were to use the company’s funds, then I would have massive layoffs. This way I can repay my debts and keep everyone else afloat.”

“I see. And how did you find out who was stealing all the money?”

“We took a deeper look into the financial records. Money doesn’t just disappear. Anyway, we traced the account it was transferred to and found the guy. He already spent most of it. The police think he’s funding some sort of operation, probably something illegal. They didn’t tell me much after that, but it’s turned into a much bigger investigation.”

“You mean like drug trade?” Lois asked.

“You would have to talk to the Gotham Police Department. Some of them are a bit more loose-lipped than you would think.” He gave her a wink.

“Oh really?” Lois leaned forwards catching a waft of that wrap. Despite how tempting it was to take a bite, she was more focused on getting this information. “Would they happen to have names?”

“Nothing I can think of offhand? I think there was an Alex Johnson, um maybe a Mark Smith and Deborah White. I think, I can’t be sure.” Bruce shrugged.

“Interesting,” Lois jotted the names down. “I do have one more question though.”

“Hmm?” Bruce leaned forwards to hear better. It was now that Lois got the full effect his “come hither,” look. The smallest curl of his lip made him come off as smug and confident.

“We could have this conversation over the phone, and yet you go out of your way to invite me here.”

“I didn’t hear a question in there.” Bruce batted his eyes.

“Why are you going out of your way to do this for me? The flowers the multiple interviews, willingly inviting me to take your statement. It’s a lot coming from someone who goes out of his way to _not_ talk to the press.”

“Are you asking me if I’m giving you special treatment?”

“I’m asking if maybe, you’re doing this because you’re doing a favor for Clark.”

“Maybe I just wanted to see you again?”

Damian snorted then chuckled as he tried to fight back his laughter. Bruce’s façade fell in that moment.

“Kent may have put in a good word for you.” Bruce finally admitted. He took note of Damian struggling to open the container that held his sandwich. He got up to help the little boy get the plastic wrap.

Lois watched as he helped Damian get his sandwich out and cut it in half for him. The little boy smiled up at him in thanks after taking the first bite. His little hand patting his dad on the shoulder leaving behind a mustard hand print.

So that’s where all those hand prints have been coming from. At least that was one mystery solved.

“And you’ve handled these kinds of situations well in the past.” He frowned as he got back to his seat, dabbing at the stain with a napkin.

“But you didn’t know that this would turn into such a scandal?” Lois crossed her arms.

“Didn’t Kent tell you that he talked me into it?” Bruce shrugged. Lois raised her eyebrow silently, demanding the actual answer. “Look, he told me about your story and that you were having trouble getting people to talk to you. I owed him a favor. I more or less got scammed into it, but you were doing a good job with it, so I decided to play nice.”

“That was brutally honest.”

“Well, let’s not pretend that we never got along that well when it came to business.” Bruce said. “But that aside, you did help me out a lot so, no harm no foul.”

Lois couldn’t help but feel a little resentful. The way Bruce phrased it was less than tasteful, true.

“Well, I guess I should be giving my thanks to Clark then.” She started to close her notebook. “And thank you for making time for me, and giving me that lead.”

“It’s the least I could do,” Bruce stood to let her out. “Are you going to take your wrap with you?”

“Oh, yes I will.” She picked up the plastic container it was in. “Thanks for reminding me.”

“Also, they got my order wrong. They sent me this turkey sandwich, would you like it.” He held the wrapped sandwich out to her. She decided there was no harm in taking it. Reading the label, it looked like it was a special order. A turkey sandwich with extra bacon, Swiss cheese, radish sauce, no lettuce was oddly specific.

What do you know, fancy sandwiches, Lois couldn’t help but smile.

“Sure I’ll take it. Maybe Clark will want it. That man can eat anything.” She put them both in her bag.

Bruce laughed at that. For once the smile reached his eyes in a way that Lois had never seen before. Even the way he smiled was different, a bit more open. He looked like he was about to say something, but decided against it.

“It was nice seeing you Ms. Lane.” He opened the door only to have a gun pointed to his face.

“Don’t move,” the masked men forced their way in. Bruce appeared to be wide-eyed and frazzled, panicked and shaky. Yet, there was something almost calm about it, like he was still in control and un-phased by the situation. His eyes kept shifting to where Damian was then back to the door. Jason had been right outside the door talking with Terry a moment ago.

“What is this about?” Bruce asked evenly after taking a gulp of air.

“You know what this is about,” The first man replied. “You’re coming with us.”

Damian was behind the desk. He had a crayon in a death grip. He didn’t look scared like a child his age should. He just looked mad and ready to fight. Bruce sent a worried glance in the boy's direction.

“As long as you don’t hurt anyone, I’ll come with you,” Bruce promised. He kept his hands up by his head.

“Don’t give us any trouble and we’ll see.”

Lois could only watch as the armed men led Wayne out the door and through the hall. This was a mass operation. There were more people on the floor to keep the workers under control. She could only imagine what the other floors must look like.

Peeking out she could see Jason on the floor bound next to Terry. Jason was bleeding from his mouth. He must have put up a struggle.

“Bruce,” Jason watched in alarm as his dad was led out.

“It’s going to be okay,” Bruce said as he went. “Just stay calm. It’s going to be okay.”

Lois felt bad that there wasn’t much she could do. Once Wayne was down the hall and the gunmen had followed them into the elevator, everyone started to move again. They couldn’t leave the building but a few had managed to find a phone that hadn’t been cut off and called the police.

Lois went to Jason and helped Terry untie him.

“Stupid kidnappers,” Jason grumbled as he rolled his wrist and stretched, He looked determined, like he wanted to go after Bruce.

“Don’t worry,” Lois assured him. “Superman is usually around by now. He’ll save him.”

It was now that he became aware of Damian’s presence. He had come out from behind the desk, hovering close by to make sure that Jason was okay.

“Where’s Tim?” Damian asked Jason.

“Last I heard he said something about doing something in the copy room,” Jason said. “He’s probably okay.”

“They’re leaving,” Terry was looking out the window. Lois peeked over his shoulder. They were indeed putting Wayne into the back of the car.

“I’m going down there to check everything out,” Lois started for the stairs. Maybe she could get down in enough time get the license plate number off the car before it got too far away. She had to hurry if that was even going to be a possibility.

By the time she got down the stairs there was already a crowd forming around the getaway vehicle, but there wasn’t chaos like she thought there would be. There were oohs and aahs from everyone, people were holding up their phones to snap pictures and take videos.

She had to muscle her way through the crowd in order to get a better look. The front of the getaway car was crushed, and the gunmen were bound to a light post with a piece of metal.

That could only mean one thing!

“Are you okay Mr. Wayne,” Superman held out a single hand as he helped the billionaire to his feet.

“Now I am,” Wayne accepted the hand. He was a bit unstable on his feet and could use the extra support. He stumbled and found himself pressed to Superman’s chest. He let out a small chuckled as he apologized.

Lois watched how Superman smiled with nothing but understanding for the disoriented man.

“It’s alright Mr. Wayne,” Superman reassured him. “Are you okay?”

Lois felt a sense of ease seeing that Superman had it handled. Wayne was going to be okay. She could be sure of that.

“I feel fine. Though you can x-ray me if you want to double check. It’s okay if you…take a peek while you’re at it,” his voice trailed off at the last part. If Lois hadn’t been so close, she wouldn’t of heard it. “Call it a reward if you will.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Superman blushed.

“Well, I should do something to thank you,” Bruce made no move to straighten himself. His hands stayed on Superman's broad chest. “You did save me from those kidnappers. Who knows what they’ve would have done.”

“I’m just doing my job,” Superman took Bruce’s hands in his and gently removed them from himself.

“No, you go above and beyond and for that, maybe you could swing by later and I could give you a proper thanks.” Bruce’s fingers rubbed Superman’s knuckles: slowly and deliberately  The look he was giving Superman was full on libidinous. There was no secret to what he was requesting of the hero.

“I’ll have to decline,” Superman was pink as he looked up at Bruce. Yes, Bruce was an inch taller than Superman. It made it easy for him to crowd the alien’s space, but Superman didn’t seem phased by it. He smiled politely and took a step back and started to float. “Other people need my help.”

“I’m still in your debt,” Bruce kissed the back of Superman’s hand.  A flamboyant act that was nothing short of his playboy charm. “I won’t forget this.”

Lois had never seen Superman so red in the face. Even as he flew away, he looked like a streak of scarlet in the sky.

The press started to swarm. Bruce wasn’t in the mood to give a statement.

“My kids are still in the building, I want to make sure they’re okay,” He said simply.

Emergency personnel were already tending to the injured employees. Jason was among the people getting looked at. He was perched on Terry’s desk. He had taken a blow to the mouth, but it wasn’t severe. The paramedics still wanted to check him over to make sure everything was alright.

Tim and Damian were there as well. Lois had come up as well to make sure everything was okay.  Bruce was fussing over Jason as Damien clung to his leg, Tim was shoving papers into his bag with a look of indifference.

She was relieved to see that everyone was okay. She took the time to say her goodbyes once she could tell everyone was going to be alright.

And she was proud of herself for managing to be professional. Yes, she was glad that Bruce and his kids were okay. Just because she didn’t like him didn’t mean she wanted to see harm come to him or his family.

But there was a rage trying to rise up inside her. Bruce was dating Clark: that much she knew without a doubt. Yet, for some reason, Wayne thought it was okay to flirt with Superman. There was some part of his mind that thought it was alright to proposition Superman.

No way in hell was she just going to stand by and let this pompous playboy play with Clark’s emotions.

By the time she got back to the office she was livid, and trying not to let it show.

“What happened?” Clark was nothing but concerned when he saw her. “I heard about the hostage situation, are you okay?”

“It’s nothing I can’t handle. I’m fine,” Lois huffed. “I got what I needed, and a lead for my next story.” She dug around in her purse and found the sandwich. “Here, I got you one of those fancy sandwiches.”

“Oh, thank you!” Clark was more than grateful for the food.  He unwrapped the sandwich and took a bite. “So, what’s wrong? What happened?”

Lois sighed. She had to tell Clark about what had happened. She had to let him know about what she saw, even if it meant having to let Clark know she knew his secret. She just needed to take the time to figure out how she was going to say it.

It didn’t matter how big Clark was, she knew he was a soft touch. Something like this would, most likely, cause him to cry.

“It’s nothing,” Lois said. “Just, things got complicated and now I’m trying to regroup, figure out where I’m going with all this.”

“Need me to look at your notes? Maybe a fresh pair of eyes could help bring a new perspective.”

“Maybe,” She mused, watching as Clark dug into that sandwich. She didn’t doubt that Bruce sent that sandwich along just for Clark. It was a heartfelt act, but it was one of deception. But he did it well, making Clark feel like he was special so he wouldn’t suspect that he was fooling around behind his back.

“If you want my help you know where to find me,” Clark looked like a chipmunk with his cheeks all puffy and filled with food. The corner of his cheeks up turned with enthusiasm.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” She started to head back to her desk, “And thanks for all the help.”

“No problem! You would have done the same for me,” Clark waved as she went.

This was frustrating and upsetting. She didn’t want to be the one to have to tell Clark. She didn’t want to have to break his heart, to have to explain to him that the person he loved didn’t love him the same way.

Could she really bring herself to do that? She cared for Clark, deeply; he was like a little brother to her. So she guessed it made sense that she should be there for him when he has to go through this.

It just really sucked.

She could see Clark stopping to take a text while he ate. His cheeks were like pink rose petals as he smiled and quickly responded. His fingers were like lighting on the keyboard. No doubt he was texting Bruce. He looked happy, happier than she’d seen him in a while.

But she had to tell him. Tonight, she would do it tonight. She didn’t want him finding out through social media or the news. She knew Clark would be immersed in his work for the next few hours. She would catch him on the way out, treat him to some Chinese and ice-cream at his place, and then break the news to him.

It was decided.

After work, she would tell him.

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like I should clarify the BatKids ages. Dick is 18, Jason is 16 but his birthday is in a few months, Tim is 13, and Damian is 7. Little added bonus, Terry, the assistant is 18, and working there right now as an intern. Also, I noticed that I've been spelling Damian's name with an "e" instead of an "a" so I'm going to fix that in the piece before this one.


End file.
